TIME:0700HRS

WEATHER:E winds of 25 – 35 kts with squalls, diminishing near Land’s End to 12-18kts

AVERAGE SPEED OF RECORD:13.86knots (1 day, 21 hours, 44 minutes)

CURRENT SPEED:25 knots

MAXIMUM SPEED: 27.3 Knots

POSITION: 49 55.2 N` / 5 01 E

LATEST NEWS: KINGFISHER IS BACK ON PACE FOR RECORD AFTER WILD NIGHT!

“After the gentle glide out of the Solent at sunset, the night hours have certainly come as a rude awakening. In the first 3 hours of race we covered just 12 miles; in the last 3 hours we did 71 on board this spaceship like 60 foot trimaran, Kingfisher. We are already approaching Lands End…the speed is just amazing. In fairly miserable rainy conditions, we’ve been charging downhill in to the fog at sustained speeds of 25 knots. This has brought our average back up to 12.5 knots, not far from the record.

Each gybe or reef has required all 8 of us on deck, and thanks to the experience of the french guys, the manouevres have gone well so far. Gybing the massive masthead gennakers requires good coordination, fast moves and a bit of grunt to get it round. Try to picture us all bouncing around on a trampoline in the pitch black – most amusing!”

Looks like it will be a hard and wet reach to the Fastnet Rock.